Airplane innovator and family friend Burt Rutan and his company (Scaled Composites) successfully flew their SpaceShipOne craft to an altitude of some 60 miles. Financed by science friend and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, the Rutan invention is the leader in the Ansari X Prize which will award $10 million to the first team to send a three-person vehicle at least 62 miles high, and repeat the feat within two weeks. Scaled Composites has always been a front-runner--they were responsible for the incredible non-stop around-the-world flight of the Voyager--but it's great to see them have success on their first try. Congrats to the entire team!